Facebook mulls complete ban on political ads in Europe

New EU rules would force Meta to show who paid for ads, how much was paid, and how many people viewed them

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Executives at Facebook’s parent company Meta are reportedly considering a complete ban of political advertising on its platforms in Europe.

The company-wide policy comes amid concerns that Facebook and Instagram will not be able to comply with new laws coming into force in the EU that aim to target online campaigning.

Two people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg believes it may be simpler to ditch political ads altogether rather than attempt to meet the new European regulation.

Political adverts on Facebook proved controversial in the wake of the 2016 US presidential election and the UK’s referendum on European Union membership, with allegations that foreign interference influenced the results of the elections.

Facebook data acquired by consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica in the build up to the US elections was used to target voters with political advertising, investigations found, though Facebook has always denied that such campaigns were effective during the Brexit referendum.

Figures from research group Insider Intelligence suggest that Meta generated nearly $800 million in revenue from political advertising in the US alone between 2019 and 2020, however this represented less than 1 per cent of its total ad revenue during this time.

The company has previously paused political advertising during build ups to major elections, including the 2020 US presidential election.

The new European regulation will require Big Tech companies like Facebook to provide far greater transparency when it comes to political ads, with platforms forced to show who paid for them, how much was paid, and how many people viewed them.

The new rules are expected to be agreed by the European Commission, European parliament and EU member states by 5 June.

The Independent has reached out to Meta for comment.